Source: This story originated with Deadline.

Paramount Pictures is developing a live-action family comedy built around Medieval Times, with Eric Appel attached to direct and Blaise Hemingway set to write the screenplay.

Deadline, which first reported the project, said the film emerged from a recent pitch sale and remains in early development. Conceived as a four-quadrant comedy, the story will combine fantasy and adventure with an emotional core while using the Medieval Times Dinner & Tournament show as its setting.

The premise centers on a struggling employee at the Orlando Medieval Times who accidentally releases a genuine ninth-century knight — as well as an ancient, malevolent necromancer. Forced into an unlikely alliance with the feral warrior, the employee must help save the castle and then the world, all while pursuing the respect he has long wanted.

John Davis and Chris Bender are producing. Executive producers are John Fox, Jeremy Stein, Jake Weiner, Jake Wagner and Medieval Times President and CEO Perico Montaner.

A Long-Running Attraction Heads Toward the Screen

Medieval Times places visitors in color-coded sections representing rival kingdoms. During a medieval-themed meal, guests watch performers stage mounted combat, jousting, stunt riding and sword fighting. The immersive production has been North America’s most popular dinner attraction since 1983 and has entertained more than 72 million guests across its locations.

The company’s history began in Spain during the 1960s, when José Montaner established a medieval dinner-and-entertainment venue. His concept drew on his family’s claimed ties to the noble Rocabertí family of Peralada.

Medieval Times expanded into North America in 1983, when the Spanish investment group Manver opened a castle in Kissimmee, Florida, near Walt Disney World. Another location opened near Knott’s Berry Farm in Buena Park, California, in 1986 and became the franchise’s best-known venue.

The attraction has already established a presence in film and television. The Buena Park castle was prominently used in Ben Stiller’s 1996 dark comedy The Cable Guy, starring Jim Carrey. Medieval Times has also been featured or referenced in Garden State, Friends, Cake Boss, Hell’s Kitchen and Saturday Night Live.

This is not the first effort to develop a Medieval Times movie. Plans date back to 2013, when Deadline reported that Bender’s former company Benderspink had joined with Todd Garner’s Broken Road to secure the rights. The newly reported Paramount project represents the latest attempt to turn the dinner-theater property into a feature film.

The Creative Team

Appel previously directed Daniel Radcliffe in Weird: The Al Yankovic Story. The film won the People’s Choice Award — Midnight Madness Award at the Toronto International Film Festival and brought Appel his first Emmy. More recently, he directed TriStar’s family comedy The Breadwinner, starring comedian Nate Bargatze. Appel is represented by WME, Artists First and Ginsburg Daniels Kallis.

Hemingway, a Massachusetts-born writer and producer, began his career through the Disney Writers’ Program and at Paramount Animation. His previous work for Paramount includes Clifford the Big Red Dog.

His other credits include Totems for Universal and Mandeville and the Netflix action-comedy Vampires vs. the Bronx for Broadway Video. Earlier in his career, he adapted The Gates for Michael De Luca and Amblin and H.E.R.B.I.E. for Jason Reed and Disney+. He is represented by UTA and TFC Management.

The development arrives amid other activity at Paramount. During the anticipated closing of the Skydance merger, the company announced Michael Bay and Steven Spielberg’s involvement in its next Transformers movie. Before that, Bradley Cooper was set for Paramount’s G.I. Joe movie, which is to be directed by Danny McBride, according to Deadline’s previous reporting.

ShowBiz Take

The Medieval Times concept gives Paramount an established live-entertainment property with a built-in fantasy world, recognizable tournament spectacle and decades of pop-culture visibility. Rather than simply reproducing the attraction, the proposed film adds actual medieval forces to its staged castle setting, creating a clear collision between performance and fantasy.

The project is also significant as a renewed effort to make a movie after development attempts stretching back to 2013. With Appel attached and Hemingway preparing the script, the latest incarnation now has both its central premise and primary creative team in place.

What Happens Next?

The film remains in early development at Paramount, and Hemingway’s screenplay has yet to be written. Appel is currently attached to direct as the studio moves forward with the project following the pitch sale.